​SPAFOA Members Meeting at MSU

November 29, 2011

SPAFO members meeting at MSU

Meyer Tool & Mfg., Inc. attended the Superconducting Particle Accelerator Forum of the Americas (SPAFOA) October Members meeting held at the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB) at Michigan State University (MSU) on October 18, 2011. Already familiar with FRIB and its goals, Meyer attendees, Ed Bonnema and Eileen Cunningham were able to learn more about the latest project highlights and anticipated milestones.

FRIB, a new national user facility for nuclear science funded by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science (DOE-SC) and operated by MSU, is currently being designed and established at MSU. FRIB will provide intense beams of rare isotopes (short-lived nuclei not normally found on earth) to enable scientists to make discoveries about their properties in order to better understand the physics of nuclei, nuclear astrophysics, fundamental interactions, and applications for society. The project is on track to start construction in spring 2012 and achieve early completion in 2018 at an estimated cost of $600M.

The meeting was attended by 25 people, representing 12 SPAFOA member companies. The day’s agenda included a variety of talks, a FRIB facility tour, and afternoon break-out sessions. Ken Olsen, SPAFOA’s president, was able to discuss the forum’s mission and Program Activities. Tony Favale, Advanced Energy Systems, Inc. president/CEO, summarized various Industrialization issues including a discussion of leveling the playing field for U.S. companies by addressing the impact of the Value Added Tax. FRIB’s Project Manager, Thomas Glasmacher, discussed the FRIB mission and accomplishments. Project leaders also updated us on progress and issues of various components including the accelerator cavity, the cryomodule assembly, and the cryoplant and its construction. For a full agenda and related powerpoints, please view this link.

​By hosting a venue such as the SPAFOA members meeting, FRIB leaders exhibit their commitment to engaging industry early on in their process. It is only through this collaborative spirit that FRIB can hope to realize best value throughout the life of the project. From achieving optimized design and construction goals to fully engaging users focused on science and the resulting discoveries sure to ensue, FRIB is expressing commitment to values similar to those that drive Meyer Tool daily: from a project’s inception, we strive to Reduce Project Risk in order to achieve the lowest total cost of ownership for our customers. We are excited about the FRIB project and thank SPAFOA for bringing us together for an informative and interesting day!